Judging Books

“Hello there!” The big guy in white—Alfero, I remembered—walked out of the saloon doors and smiled at me.

“Hi,” I said.

“How are you? You’re Ashlyn, right?”

“Yes,” I said. “It’s good to see you again, Alfero.”

“Did you come back for some more pasta, or is it the gelato you are craving?” he asked. He looked over my shoulder towards the door. “Where’s Ethan?”

“Well, actually,” I said, “I was hoping you could help me figure that out.”

“Hmm…” Alfero looked me over for a moment. “I think you’d better sit down. Sheila, ask the kitchen if there’s any gelato left.”

“Fine,” Sheila grumbled. At

least I had a name for her again.

I walked over to the table Alfero motioned toward while Sheila headed into the kitchen.

“Something not going right?” Alfero asked. He didn’t waste any time getting to the point, and it reminded me so much of Ethan that suddenly tears were falling without my consent. I put my hands over my face and heard the scrape of chair legs across the floor before I felt Alfero’s large arms around my shoulders. He didn’t say a word but let me cry until I managed to compose myself. He offered me one of the linen napkins from the table to dry my tears.

“I’m sorry!” I was still sniffling. “I didn’t mean to start all this, it’s just…”

“Don’t you worry about a thing, Ashlyn dear,” he said. “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

I relayed the events outside the economics building, ending with Ethan’s hasty departure.

“I know I was rude to him, and I really didn’t mean it that way,” I said, sniffing. “I have my own hang-ups to work through, but I need to talk to him, and he won’t take my calls! I went to his apartment, but he wasn’t there. The doorman wouldn’t let me up even though I still have his extra key. I don’t know how to get ahold of him!”

“Ethan is a very…unusual individual,” Alfero said after a moment’s pause. “He’s sensitive to a fault, and when he feels something, he feels it very deeply. He told you about his parents?”

“Yes.”

“Even before their passing, he was an emotional child. Losing them when he needed them so much was very difficult. He has found his own peace by living for the moment but has a hard time when others he cares about don’t share his view.”

“Carpe diem,” I murmured.

“Exactly. I took him to get that added under the dragon’s tail.”

“You did?”

“I did.” Alfero nodded. “I knew Ethan’s family before he was even born. His parents shared their first date here, you know.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“He probably didn’t want to jinx it,” Alfero said with a wink. “He is completely smitten with you, of course. It was all over his face when he brought you in, and it just increased the whole time you were here.”

“What am I going to do?”

“What are you willing to do?” Alfero asked pointedly. “You have some hang-ups, as you called them. Are you going to be able to face those issues for him? If not, you need to let him go. He’s strong, and he will heal. If you are willing to make some pretty serious changes to your priorities…well, that is up to you.”

“I want to be with him,” I said. “I know that now. I know I’ll have to deal with what people think, and that’s not going to be easy, but right now, I’d do anything to get him back.”

“Then I think you have a very good chance.”

“Will you tell me where his friends live?” I asked. “I’m sure he’s there, and I really have to talk to him. I have to apologize.”

Alfero smiled, nodded, and wrote the address on a waiter’s bill pad. He gave me another hug and wished me luck, and I was out the door and headed for one of the worst areas of town. In designer shoes.